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STALLERGENES LEADERSHIP TRANSITION

Antony (France), 3 October 2011 - At its meeting held on 3 October 2011, the Board of Directors established new governance for Stallergenes: 

-        Albert Saporta will at his own request become Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Stallergenes as of 1 January 2012.

-        Louis Champion, who will be starting a new professional project, plans to leave the Company during the month of October 2011.

-        Roberto Gradnik, former Executive Vice-President of the Merck-Serono Group, has been co-opted as a Director and appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer. He will notably assume Louis Champion’s duties until 31 December 2011. On 1 January 2012, Roberto Gradnik will be appointed Chief Executive Officer.

“I am delighted that Roberto Gradnik is joining our Group and I am certain that with his skills, experience and personality, Stallergenes will be able to take a further step in its development, particularly in international markets,” stated Albert Saporta. “I will put my experience at his disposal to support him with his operational duties. In the name of all the members of the Board of Directors of Stallergenes, I also wish to thank Louis Champion warmly for his major contribution to the Company’s growth over the last 12 years.  We wish him every success in his new career.”

“I am deeply honoured to join Stallergenes, a company which has been able to become the leader on the allergen immunotherapy market in only a few years,” commented Roberto Gradnik. “Drawing on the professionalism and expertise of the existing teams, I will do my utmost to continue and accelerate its development. As a physician, I take up the challenge of combating allergies, a key health issue in all modern societies, with great enthusiasm.”

Trained as a physician, Roberto Gradnik has more than 25 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. After holding various positions with the Knoll Group (a subsidiary of the BASF Group), including that of Vice-President and International Marketing Officer for the Cardiovascular Division, he joined the Serono Group in 1999 as Head of Southern European Subsidiaries. He was then appointed Executive Vice-President for Europe, in charge of all European markets, and a member of the Executive Committee. More recently, he was appointed Executive Vice-President, Global Business Unit for Neurodegenerative Diseases for Merck Serono. Roberto Gradnik is recognised by public authorities and patient associations as a key figure on many health issues, due to his personal involvement in various professional organisations and the different responsibilities he has assumed throughout his career.      

ABOUT STALLERGENES

Stallergenes is a European biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the treatment of allergy-related respiratory diseases, such as severe rhinoconjunctivitis and rhinitis, as well as allergic asthma, using allergen immunotherapy. The seventh largest pharmaceutical company in France and the leader in sublingual immunotherapy treatment, Stallergenes devotes almost 20% of its gross turnover to Research & Development and is actively involved in the development of a new therapeutic class, sublingual immunotherapy tablets.

 In 2010, the company had a turnover of 216 million euros, and more than 500,000 patients were treated with Stallergenes products.

Additional information is available at: http://www.stallergenes.com